Jean-Philippe Mateta’s 59th minute goal was enough to see Crystal Palace to a 1-0 victory over the Blues at Portman Road, leaving Town still looking for their first home win of the season. Mateta made the most of a Jacob Greaves slip before finishing confidently, with the defender coming closest to scoring for the Blues when he stuck the woodwork with a header from a set piece in the closing stages.

Town made four changes with Greaves, Harry Clarke, Wes Burns and Jack Clarke coming into the starting XI.

Harry Clarke replaced the injured Axel Tuanzebe at right-back with Greaves coming in for Cameron Burgess, who was absent from the squad, at the centre of the defence alongside Dara O’Shea.

Burns and Jack Clarke started in the wide roles with Omari Hutchinson moving into the centre, while Conor Chaplin and Sammie Szmodics dropped to the bench alongside Kalvin Phillips and Ben Johnson, who were back in the squad after injury.

For Palace, Mali international midfielder Cheick Doucouré came into an otherwise unchanged side for Jefferson Lerma, who was among the subs.

Ex-Blues loanee Trevoh Cholabah started for the Eagles in their their three-man backline alongside skipper Marc Guehi, wearing a rainbow armband bearing the legend ‘Jesus ‘hearts’ you’, which is again likely to see the FA contact him. Blues captain Sam Morsy was again not wearing the LGBTQ+ armband.

Palace had the most of the first couple of minutes before the Blues began to see more of the ball and on seven O’Shea’s header from a right-sided corner deflected behind for another flag-kick.

A minute later, Hutchinson scuffed an effort through to Dean Henderson in the Palace goal, then Liam Delap came close to playing the former Chelsea man in down the middle but an Eagles defender’s toe intervened. Delap was clearly being fouled and referee Craig Pawson might well have pulled play back.

Soon after, Jack Clarke ran into space from his own half with options either side but ran into trouble before making up his mind.

Both sides were having spells in charge without threatening, while the Blues looked most dangerous when breaking through Clarke and Delap.

On 22, O’Shea was shown the game’s first yellow card for a foul on Ismaila Sarr. From the free-kick from the right, Blues keeper Aro Muric half came for it before opting not to and O’Shea flicked it behind. From the corner, Town looked to break but Jack Clarke was fouled by Doucouré, who was booked.

Five minutes later, Maxence Lacroix headed well over from a Palace corner, then a minute later referee Pawson spoke at length to Morsy after Eberechi Eze had lost his footing but won a free-kick.

Palace were getting on top and presenting the greatest danger, and as the game moved to the half hour, a Doucouré shot was diverted over the bar by Greaves, O’Shea and Mateta clashing heads in the build-up and the Town defender requiring treatment and a bandage for a badly cut head.

Town were without the Irish international for the subsequent corner but Chalobah headed into the back of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.

The Blues were coming under pressure and in the 36th minute a slip at the back allowed Mateta to run towards goal but Greaves blocked.

Moments later, Greaves was in the way of a Palace effort again, turning the ball away from goal at the far post after Daniel Munoz sent an effort across goal from Tyrick Mitchell’s pull -back.

In the 38th minute, Eze had the visitors’ clearest chance of the half after Mateta’s pass from the right played the England international in on goal the wrong side of Burns. The Wales international did well to put the former QPR man under pressure as he ran in on goal and his shot when it came was too close to Muric, who saved.

Town, who had had a period of the player going one way and the pass the other whenever they were looking to break, began to get more of a foothold back in the game as the half moved into its final five minutes.

In the penultimate scheduled minute, Burns tried a speculative effort from distance which won a corner, from which Harry Clarke flicked at the near-post, Delap helped on and Henderson blocked on the line.

Town were the ones pressing at the end of three minutes of additional time with the half having been evenly balanced with both sides having had spells on top and a couple of chances apiece.

Palace had started on the front foot but the Blues had had the first opportunity through O’Shea, then had a spell on top.

The visitors took charge in the middle period when Town game under significant pressure but the Blues were beginning to come more into it close the the break following a scruffy middle period when too many passes were going astray when they were going forward.

Palace made a change ahead of the second half, Doucouré making way for Lerma in midfield.

Town created the first chance of the period, Hutchinson, who had had a quieter than usual first half, bringing the ball forward in space down the middle and feeding Burns on the right, from where the Welshman sent over a cross, which Delap headed straight at Henderson.

On 48, Eze struck the Eagles’ first effort of the half, a low shot from the edge of the box which O’Shea blocked for a corner which came to nothing.

Town began to get more control and pass the ball around with greater confidence, a spell of possession in the 55th minute ending with O’Shea shooting over from distance.

Three minutes later, Will Hughes was booked for going through the back of Jack Clarke with the former Sunderland man breaking into the Palace half after Greaves had made a strong tackle to end a visitors’ attack.

Town had made a decent start to the second half but in the 59th minute, Palace went ahead.

Eze played a ball from the left forward for Mateta, his marker Greaves lost his footing as they battled, giving the Frenchman a free run at goal into the left of the area. Harry Clarke tried to get back but Mateta was able to lift the ball over Muric and into the corner of the net before running away to the left to celebrate in front of the travelling support.

The Blues, who had presented little threat since going behind, made a double change on 66, Conor Chaplin, Jack Taylor and Nathan Broadhead replacing Burns, Cajuste and Jack Clarke with Hutchinson moving to wide right.

Two minutes later, Palace might have gone two in front, Eze playing in Mateta in a similar position to the one from which he had scored. This time Muric was able to save with his foot.

In the 70th minute, Leif Davis, making his 100th league appearance for the club, got down the left and crossed for the first time, but his ball in was just behind Delap and a defender nodded it out at the far post ahead of Hutchinson.

Five minutes later, Delap fouled Munoz on the touchline, a frustrated looking challenge, taking the striker to 32 fouls for the season, more than anyone else in the Premier League.

On 76, Palace brought on Justin Devenny for Eze, then two minutes later Greaves was yellow-carded for a foul on Sarr. In the 79th minute, Delap was replaced by Ali Al-Hamadi.

The Iraq international immediately instilled some impetus in the Town attack, Morsy eventually screwing a shot wide from the edge of the area. Moments later, Chalobah was swapped for Chris Richards.

Hutchinson was also beginning to have an impact down the right, sending over a dangerous cross-shot on 83, then seeing a cutback towards Broadhead stopped by Hughes two minutes later.

In the 86th minute, Al-Hamadi was felled by Lacroix just outside the area to the left and from the free-kick Town went very close to levelling.

Davis took the free-kick short to Chaplin on the edge of the box with everyone anticipating a cross. Chaplin turned and chipped a ball to the far post and Greaves headed across the six-yard area towards Al-Hamadi and Broadhead, the ball hitting the post, then going out of play off the Welshman. It was a well-worked free-kick which deserved more.

Boos rang around the ground as an implausibly scant three additional minutes was announced as Sarr was booked for a foul on the edge of the Town box on Greaves before being replaced by Eddie Nketiah.

Town huffed and puffed in the closing stages and moments before the whistle Palace broke away through Mateta, who moments earlier had been booked, but the goalscorer was unable to find unmarked teammates in the middle.

For the second time in four days, the Blues were defeated by a single goal, the game having swung one way and the other before Palace’s goal.

However, as at Forest on Saturday, Town lacked the guile to cause the opposition too many problems in their penalty area, aside from Greaves’s late header from the set piece.

Other than that, Palace were comfortable, having had chances to add to their lead, and were ultimately worthy of only their second Premier League win of the season.

The Blues, who remain 19th, fall to their third home defeat of the campaign and are still looking for their first win at Portman Road of 2024/25 but have another chance to break that duck when they host AFC Bournemouth on Sunday.

Town: Muric, H Clarke, O'Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c), Cajuste (Taylor 66), Burns (Chaplin 66), Hutchinson, J Clarke (Broadhead 66), Delap (Al-Hamadi 79). Unused: Walton, Johnson, Townsend, Phillips, Szmodics.

Palace: Henderson, Chalobah (Richards 81), Lacroix, Guehi (c), Munoz, Hughes, Doucouré (Lerma 46), Mitchell, Sarr (Nketiah 90), Eze (Devenny 76), Mateta. Unused: Turner, Richards, Ward, Clyne, Kporha, Schlupp. Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire). VAR official: Chris Kavanagh. Att: 29,533 (Palace: 2,939).

Photo: Matchday Images

warktheline added 22:21 - Dec 3 No hiding away from that performance! Very ordinary at best…sorry but H Clarke in the starting 11 feels me with dread! Burns disappeared in games against the promotion chasing teams last season and I’d suspect he’s hit his ceiling. Undoubtedly at least 4 more quality players needed!
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SuffPunch added 22:22 - Dec 3 Without wanting to rant, I believe there are a number of players who are not up to the standard required to be premier League starters. We have no other option than a tired looking Delap. Ali being a decent enough sub to chase a game. I believe we need more power and pace in midfield. Morsy being so willing to receive the ball in any position to help his team mates stops then having to look for a more incisive pass forward and faster. It's not over yet, but I think we need to spend big in January otherwise we may be isolated in the relegation places.

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warktheline added 22:22 - Dec 3 Fills *
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yorkieblue62 added 22:23 - Dec 3 Agree lack of quality plain to see but I thought Palace defensively did a good job on us & they will start moving up the league. Also unfair to be too critical of J Clarke as he has not had much game time from the start and had a few moments in the first half, though his final ball as with most of the others, was poor. to give us a decent chance of staying up I had us on 16 pts from first 19 matches so 2 wins from next 5, or probably 2 from next 3 ...I can still dream, just!!

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davidwyard added 22:24 - Dec 3 Maybe we should wear the pink kit at home!
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Carberry added 22:28 - Dec 3 Backwards, backwards, no wonder we couldn't build any momentum and threaten their goal. An average side has contained us pretty easily and then shown a piece of class we never looked like replicating. We lacked flair and goal potential while substitutes just don't make a difference in this league because they aren't able to compete at this level. It doesn't look good, Sunday is now a 'must win' game and they are better than Palace. We spent over £100M in the Summer to sit in the bottom 3, how much will we spend in January to improve the team..... not enough.

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Leejames99 added 22:33 - Dec 3 I think if all fit for Sunday team should be ... Muric Greaves O'Shea Davis Phillips Morsy Cajuste Szmodics Number 10 Jack Clarke (Left) Hutchinson (Right) Delap Sub - Johnson for Cajuste Broadhead for Clarke Keep Delap on for 90 or move Szmodics up front centre with Chaplin into the 10 until we get new signings. That's just opinion for what it's worth, could do with a striker with height whilst Hurst is out. Leicester winning is no bad thing as it brings West Ham into the mix down bottom, beat Bournemoth we okay. COYB

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del45 added 22:39 - Dec 3 Still no home win rubbish tonight poor team selection, players not played in their best positions shown up tonight very poor performance let the supporters down.
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delias_cheesy_flaps added 22:40 - Dec 3 It sounds like being 8 hours ahead and asleep was a godsend for this one! Starting to notice a few more comments now being made on our ponderous buildup play and backwards passing, something which has grated on me for a long time! It served us well in the lower leagues but the Prem is a completely different ball game. Onwards and upwards has never been so true!

3

Gforce added 22:40 - Dec 3 Hate to be negative but we are as good as down. The bottom line I'm afraid is there are just not 3 teams worse than us. Just going to have to regroup and hopefully come back even stronger.(Just like Sheff Utd & Burnley are doing at the moment)
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Tedray added 22:45 - Dec 3 It all seems about money.We have a lot of good players but in this league a few world class players with presence and attitude are needed and they cost. Also as we have to put so much into games to try and get a result it is dificult for our men to maintain this level match after match.But keep the faith.
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Rimsy added 22:48 - Dec 3 Probably our worst of the year. Too slow from the back. Gotta get Omari on the right, Burns not showing he's up to it. Jack Clark disappointing, give Broadhead a run, did well when he came on. Muric again looking poor, so slow with his distribution and you can see the defence has no faith in him.
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blueboy1981 added 22:48 - Dec 3 Two shots on target at Home against fellow strugglers - says it all. No shortage of effort from the team, but that and triangles are not enough to survive in the Premiership. A season thus far of losing to teams that we should have had points from. It is what it is - glossing it over is likewise Pointless again….. !!
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Crawfordsboot added 22:49 - Dec 3 Tonight was disappointing. Palace are a decent mid table premiership side. We looked flat which is hardly surprising given the lack of depth in our squad and the fact that the initial euphoria on the return to the prem has worn off. Keeping everything in perspective any side that has to bring on Ali as a sub up front in the prem is going to struggle. He needs a season or two in a lower league. It will be a minor miracle if we can stay up and get another transfer window in which to strengthen the squad.

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Granthamblue62 added 22:56 - Dec 3 Second game in a row where the performance has been flat and insipid. It must be clear now that the current group of players are not good enough to compete week in, week out in the Premier League. I was very optimistic after the Man Utd game, however, without a very strong Jan transfer window we look nailed on for relegation. Come the end of Jan, of course, we may already be cut adrift. I guess the ethos must be enjoy it whilst it lasts. Damn Shame!

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SickParrot added 22:59 - Dec 3 Despite matching or outplaying Liverpool, Villa and Man Utd for long periods, just 4 points and 5 goals scored from 7 home games is obviously not good enough. To make matters worse those stats include just 1 goal scored and 1 point gained from the games against Everton, Leicester and Palace. We seem to raise our game against the top sides (when there is no expectation that we will get anything from the game) but struggle in games against the teams that we need to take points off. If we are to stay up we will need better luck with injuries and officials decisions, but we will also need to produce more quality, more often. We have an outstanding young manager in Kieran and some outstanding young players but is there enough quality, experience and grit in the current squad to avoid relegation? Results so far suggest otherwise. Can signings in January save us? Maybe. Let's hope so, because relegation would surely result in us losing Kieran, Davis, Delap and Hutchinson. A quick return to the Premier League would then be unlikely.

4

Eeyore added 22:59 - Dec 3 They concentrated on stopping Delap and Hutchinson which worked a treat. So looks like we do need Szmodics as the third threat. Jack Clarke is a poor decision maker at the moment. Unfortunately starting with him was a failure but perhaps needed trying. I think we might see Phillips replacing Cajuste in next match. Perhaps Broadhead should start on the left now with Szmodics number 10 and omari on the right

5

Umros added 23:00 - Dec 3 Most of comments said it all however another slant could be the ref Cleary bottling a second yellow for Doucouré, when our player had spun him and started to go. This is a yellow card offence all day long, I’m sure it would have been deemed ‘soft’. There is no such word, foul is a foul and a yellow is a yellow so why was it not given? . Would it have altered the outcome? Who knows. The fact that he was subbed at half time says it all!

5

blueboy1981 added 23:05 - Dec 3 I don’t believe in calling players out, but clearly now the Team is collectively not up to Premiership survival level, equally so some of our tactics / role play / substitutions are puzzling. But I’m not McKenna, suffice to say.
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ProjectKing34 added 23:08 - Dec 3 We need to regain perspective; whilst the performance and team selection was poor, we are far from relegated. In the unlikely event we were to beat both Bournemouth and Wolves, our season would transform significantly in just 180 minute. Crystal Palace played very well defensively and did not allow us much space at all. The difficulty is the lack of justification in the team selection - Burgess has played tremendously well and does not deserve to be on the bench. Szmodics is a significant goal threat who does not deserve to be on the bench. It is clear that Hutchinson plays far better on the right; Chaplin, when called upon, has played well in the 10 position. JC and WB are simply not good enough to start matches - in order to increase our chances, Burgess and Szmodics simply must start.

2

Linkboy13 added 23:10 - Dec 3 No matter what team or system we would have played tonight it wouldn't have made a difference to the result. Anyone with any knowledge of football can see most of the squad are not up to it physically and technically. We have completely underestimated the quality of the Premier league by over spending on decent championship players. I think we now need to put out our strongest possible team in the FA cup and go for the win just to put some confidence into the team.

4

aas1010 added 23:24 - Dec 3 There is a load off dead wood in this a squad now .time to refresh it with premiership players
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BigscarfAl added 23:26 - Dec 3 Disappointing tonight, still a lot of games to go we can and have played better. Not getting the breaks at the moment. Keep the faith. Maybe Kieran's biggest achievement will be to keep us up. Don't be surprised when this happens.
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BigscarfAl added 23:26 - Dec 3 Disappointing tonight, still a lot of games to go we can and have played better. Not getting the breaks at the moment. Keep the faith. Maybe Kieran's biggest achievement will be to keep us up. Don't be surprised when this happens.
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NorthLondonBlue2 added 23:43 - Dec 3 Broadhead showed some promise, Al Hamadi was at least going for it and Greaves was one stumble away from a great game. Worrying that a bang average Palace side contained us without breaking a sweat. This was always going to be a very tough season, it’s going to get worse before any chance of an improvement I’m afraid.
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